Help! Windshield wipers stuck in the upright position!

[DontBlameMe]

They still work, but when you turn them off, they don't return to the "down" position.

Any help appreciated.

edit: BTW, it's a 97 Chevy Cavalier.

[ugarte]

1. too much Viagra?

:)

[Love Bug]

2. Can you push them down into the correct position?

Check the nuts holding them on to make sure they are tight enough. Could be they are loose and caused the wipers to get out of alignment. I had one wiper do this once and it was because of a loose nut.

[DontBlameMe]

3. When it's on intermittent, they stay down...

in between wipes. But when you turn them off, they go down, then right back up and stop.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Common problem...

there's a little gizmo in the wiper motor that has either broken or got out of alignment. Try pushing them down to the proper position and if that doesn't work to reset things, you may need a new gizmo or wiper motor.

Shouldn't be too expensive to fix.

[Bruce McAuley]

5. You need more information

Either buy a manual for your Cavalier, or better yet just call the local Chevy dealer and talk to the service guys there and ask if this is a common failure and maybe if there's a recall or repair fix put out by GM. If you get no satisfaction from them, call around your local independent repair shops, and ask if they've ever fixed something like this before. If they recommend a new motor because the stop switch is located inside the motor, see how hard it would be to change it yourself. If the stop switch is located somewhere else, find out where and see if you can fix it yourself. Check out buying used parts at a junkyard and doing it yourself, or go with the independent repair shop if Chevy has no recalls for the switch, and the price is not too outrageous. It is possible you could put in a switch on the dash that turns off ALL power to the winshield wiper, and override the faulty switch completely.
Good luck!
:hi:

Bruce